February 2011 Archives

By Jeanne H. Kilde

The importance of studying religion is brought home to me every time I open a newspaper. From the short-lived but red-hot dispute over the construction of an Islamic center near the Twin Towers site in lower Manhattan that erupted in August, to the disparaging of Haitian Vodou by Christian fundamentalists after the January 2010 earthquake, to the decision to have President Obama refrain from visiting the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, during the fall, religion is in the news as never before.

By Nabil Matar, Professor of English

Professor Nabil Matar previews the "Shared Cultural Spaces: Islam and the West in the Arts and Sciences" conference in 2011, part of the National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures initiative and sponsored by the Program in Religious Studies.

With a grant from the Bridging Cultures rubric of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Program in Religious Studies at the University of Minnesota will be hosting a conference on "Shared Cultural Spaces: Islam and the West in Arts and Sciences." The event will include two keynote speakers, individual panels on architecture, science, philosophy, and technology, and the theatrical premiere of the famous twelfth-century story of Hayy ibn Yaqzan. Participants and guests will also visit the Minneapolis Institute of Arts for a special exhibit, meet with Twin Cities cultural groups, and, it is hoped, enjoy stomping in the snow.

Program in Religious Studies core and affiliate faculty members
represent the University of Minnesota's tripartite mission of academic excellence with accolades for extraordinary education, breakthrough research, and dynamic public engagement:

By Kelly O'Brien

Philip Sellew, recipient of the Motley Exemplary Teaching Award, gently guides his students on a journey of discovery.

As a public university, Minnesota's religious studies offerings focus not on indoctrinating any particular belief, but in understanding the historical, cultural, and societal significance of religion.

Strong student community ties and motivation for academic success define religious studies undergraduates at the University of Minnesota

Harold A. Anderson Scholarship

Three outstanding religious studies undergraduate students received the Harold A. Anderson Scholarship in 2009-2010. Jacob Berres plans to study Islam, Judaism, and Christianity before persuing a graduate degree in global studies, international affairs, or political science. Anthony Meyer is an avid writer and plans to study biblical criticism in preparation for graduate study in divinity school. Carl Moerschbacher is working on Greek and Hebrew language aquisition as well as text criticism and biblical exegesis. Congratulations to three motivated junior scholars!

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By Derk Renwick

Graduating senior Ashley Talberg worked with faculty from across the College of Liberal Arts while researching the effect religious belief has on game theory. She learned that there is a connection between trust and religious belief, regardless of religious affiliation.

By Ann B. Waltner, Director of Graduate Studies for Religious Studies, Professor of History, and Director of the Institute for Advanced Study

Why should you think about doing a graduate minor in Religious Studies?

The graduate minor in the Program in Religious Studies provides a structured way for students who are interested in religion, no matter what their disciplinary focus, to do systematic coursework in religion. Students are required to take RELS 5001, a methods course, and three other courses, subject to the approval of the DGS. A member of the Religious Studies graduate faculty must serve on your prelims committee. A minor in religious studies offers you the opportunity to interact with faculty and other graduate students who are interested in similar questions in very different contexts--disciplinary, temporal, geographic.

By Don Burrows

Don Burrows, a Ph.D. candidate in Classical and Near Eastern studies, has done work in biblical studies and American religious history in conjunction with his minor in religious studies. He has used this research to examine how American films in the postwar era depicted ancient Rome in light of the "Judeo-Christian tradition" and how those depictions have affected the popular perception of the ancient Romans.